to make: crawly cakes for halloween

I used snack cakes and Pocky to make crawly spider cakes for Halloween. Thanks go out to Scott for a bit of inspiration.

I had planned to bake a Halloween dessert this year, but an unrelated baking accident left me with a burned thumb (poor me), so I had to look to easier options. I turned to Hostess and Little Debbie snack cakes for the bodies of crawly spider like creatures, and used Pocky to form legs. I managed to find Pocky in a variety of colors and textures, here is what I used: regular Pocky, coconut and milk chocolate Pocky for the texture, Kurogo (poppy seed) Pocky because it is black (!!) and Goka (fruit and nut) Pocky because it somewhat matched the orange Halloween edition Hostess Glo Balls. It’s a shame I couldn’t find this green Matcha Pocky.

Overall, these look better and more edible in person, I’m not sure what was lost in the pictures but I hope it means I need a new camera. Also, I need to buy a set of plates which match.

I also think those oversized chocolate chocolate chip muffins you can find in grocery store bakeries would make great lumpy spider bodies if you cut an inch off the bottom. Something that looks sort of like these (but larger):

I used Ding Dongs, Sno Balls, Glo Balls, Twinkies and Little Debbie Star Crunch for the bodies. Besides some black sprinkles, I decided the only other decorations I would use would be sugar eyes.

I had to come up with a plan to attach the eyes. I knew I could use royal icing to glue the eyes onto cakes covered in smooth chocolate, but the spongy cakes might not hold. So, I piped royal icing spikes onto the backs of the eyes, turning them into tacks. This worked pretty well.

Next came the legs.

I used dark and white melting chocolate to glue the Pocky together. I colored the white chocolate with orange or black food coloring to match, or at least blend in.

Trim the cookie end of the Pocky short so that it won’t show outside of the cakey treat.

Cut the Pocky at an angle, this will help form sharp angles at the joints. I cut mine in half but you could make them different lengths for drama. The Pocky is very likely to crumble when you cut it, this is ok as the chocolate glue will cover this up in the next step.

Pick up both halves of the Pocky and dip the cut ends in the chocolate. Be careful to cover the cookie with chocolate so that it won’t show – you can rub one cut end with the other to spread it if you need. Then, arrange the two pieces at a leggy angle on some parchment paper, being sure there is enough chocolate glue to hold. Now don’t touch it! Let it set, you can slip this into the fridge. This will create a strong enough bond.

I’ll start with the easiest. I simply used regular Pocky and a Ding Dong, and attached the eyes with royal icing. I used a knitting needle to pre-poke holes for the legs, be careful to hold the legs by the end you’ll be pushing in so you don’t break the knees.

The second one is like the first, but cracks on the top of the Ding Dong inspired the use of many eyes to cover the flaw. This one is my favorite.

I found the coconut Pocky first, and sought out a snack cake to match the color and texture. These are Little Debbie Star Crunch.

I cut a small round to use as a foundation to give it some more height. I pre-poked holes for the legs and used royal icing to glue on the eyes.

He looks a little bit like a crab.

This one is made using the orange colored Glo Balls which come out around Halloween. I was pleased to find orange Pocky that went pretty well with the color. I used the thumb tack eyes for this one, and the cake is soft enough that you don’t have to poke holes for the legs.

This is a more anatomically correct spider made combining a white Sno Ball and half of a Twinkie. I had planned to spray both with black Color Mist spray, and then add a red Black Widow hourglass shape to the back with red spray. I took a tip from Alton Brown and sprayed the cakes while holding them over the open door of my dishwasher, no need to wipe up the mess if some color strays from the plate they were sitting on.

The color didn’t take well to the treats, it soaked in leaving them gray-ish, so I decided to cover them with black sprinkles instead, which stuck nicely to the outside after they’d been sprayed. I used the thumb tacked eyes on this one as well.

Cut the Twinkie to a little bit less than half, and angle it so that it will bump up against the Sno Ball. I used half a Twinkie here and I think it’s a little too long.

more pictures!

inspirations

If you do not know about them already I simply insist you take a look at Clare Crespo’s books. She is the inspiration for Snack Cake Sushi and has several cupcake recipes for halloween:

Thank you,my son’s birthday party was a success, I prepared also some spare legs ’cause it was hot and there were many kids around. I made an
12 inches devils food cake decorate as the spider! A big success also here in Italy!

I LOVE IT!! I’m always looking for cool things to share w/ my kids and their friends. This will be a great hit!
Are the legs alot of work though ~ I get frustrated when it looks so wonderful in a pic. then falls apart when you actually put the project together.

[…] My 3-year-old received a Sully costume (of Monster’s, Inc.) last year for her birthday, made by the aforementioned girlfriend, and it still fit, so she was happy to be Sully for Halloween. Â All in all, a fairly stress-free Halloween. Â Oh, I did cram in some crafty dessert making, but just a little. Â I found these spider cakes online, and thought they were so cool. Â I like to think I’m pretty good at copycatting! Of course mine are sloppier, but that’s ok. I did not manage to get any decent pictures of the kids at the party, but what can you do? I always beat myself up when that happens, and this time was no different, but I think I’m getting better at letting go. Â Anyway, here are some pics. […]

Hello
May I just say…WOOOW! These spider cupcakes are too cute and I love them so much!
I am a cup maker too (ceramic cup ,not cupcake ><!!) Actually I just had my first spider-cup-show last week , please have a look the film that I made and also….If you don’t mind that I post these lovely spider-cupcake-photos on my blog?
Please enjoy my blog but really sorry for the Chinese text that you may not understand.
Thank you and best wishes to you and your cakes!
Celine from TAIWAN

[…] Not Martha features no-bake crawly cakes to make for a treat this Halloween season. Very adorable and swanky … and made out of snack cakes! A perfect no-bake Halloween treat for Halloween evening before or after trick or treat! […]

YUM this tutorial looks absolutely delicious!! I’m writing from bulbinblue.com, a non-profit website for creative ideas, crafts and recipes. We’d love to feature your tutorial in our upcoming Halloween section. If you are interested, please e-mail us at the address given!
Sincerely,
The Blue Team

Oh wow, I LOVE these!!! I can hardly wait to have a Halloween themed birthday party for my daughter (her b’day is 11-2), just so I can make these!! Fantastic! Oh and I love the fact that you are local, I pretty much know all the stores and places you get things. he he